M. C. Mehta vs Union of India - 2013 Supreme(SC) 1398

Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation

2013 Supreme(SC) 1398

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
H.L Dattu, Jagdish Singh Khehar, JJ.
M.C. Mehta - Petitioner
Versus
Union of India & others. - Respondents
I.A. No. 22 in W.P.(C) No. 4677 of 1985 with W.P(C) No. 263 of 2006, W.P.(C) No. 264 of 2006, W.P.(C) No. 563/2006, W.P.(C) No. 569/2006, W.P.(C) No. 610/2006, W.P.(C) No. 464/2006, W.P.(C) No.266/2006, W.P.(C) No. 450/2006, W.P.(C) No.470/2006 W.P.(C) No. 212/2008, W.P.(C) No. 229/2008, W.P.(C) No.144/2009, W.P.(C) No. 103/2013, W.P.(C) No. 273/2009, I.A. No. 19 in W.P.(C) No. No. 4677-1985, I.A. No. 2084 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. Nos. 2085-2086 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. Nos. 2191, 2322 & 2366 in W.P.(C) 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2111 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2112 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2113 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. Nos. 2114, 2130 & 2131 in W.P.(C) 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2115 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2125 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985. I.A. No.2126 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2127 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. Nos. 2153-2154 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. Nos. 2156-2157 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985 I.A. No. 2158 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2161 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2162-2163 & 2206-2207 AND in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2178-2179 in W.P.(C)No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2180-2181 in W.P.(C)No. 4677/1985, I.A.No. 2185 & 2369 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2192-2193 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2194 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2197 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2201-2202 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2235-2236 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2257-2258 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2272-2273 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No .2352 in W.P.(C) No.4677/1985, I.A. No. 2276 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985 I.A.No. 2280-2281 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A.No. 2284 & 2305 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2285-2285 a in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2289 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2311-2312 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2297-2298 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2259 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2279 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2260-2261 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985 I.A. No. 2226 & 2265 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2208-2209/2013 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2212-2213 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2214-2215 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2216-2217 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2173 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2170-2172 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2069-2069 A in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2138 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2230 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2221-2221 A in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No.2299-2300 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2323-2324 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2083 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/2985, I.A. No.2318-2319 in W.P.(C) No.4677/1985, I.A. No.2303-2304 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2328 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2331 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. D38956/07 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. D39804/07 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. D39018/07 in W.P.(C) N. 4677/1985, I.A. No. D38936/07 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. D39014/07 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. D39809/07 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. D81951/07 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. D21744/07 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. D34785/07 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. D28926/07 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. D43913/07 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. D70577/06 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. D6436 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. D45168 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2332-2333 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2337-2338 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2350-2351 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2353-2354 in IA 2212-2213 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2364-2365 & 2464 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2388-2389 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2394-2395 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No.2549 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2398-2399 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2400-2401 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2412-2414 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2458-2459 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2460-2461 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A.No .2462-2463 in W.P.(C)No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2465-2467 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2468-2469 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2474-2475 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2476 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2477-2478 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2479 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2482 in I.A. 2051-2052 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2051-2052 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2491 in IA 2051-2052 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2496 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. NO. 2499 IN W.P.(C)NO.4677/1985, I.A. No. 2501-2502 & 2509 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2503-2504 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2505-2506 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2507, 2508 & 2535 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2539 in 2535 in 2507 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2535 in IA 2507-2508 & 2509 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2510-2511 & 2532 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2512-2513 & 2525-2526 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2516-2517 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2522-2523 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2528 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2533-2534 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2537 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2538 in IA 2540 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2540 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2541-2543 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2544-2545 AND DY. No. 26855 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2546-2547 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2548 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2402-2403 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2407-2408 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2410-2411 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2416-2417 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2422-2423 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2434 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2437-2438 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2360-2361 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2445-2446 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2452-2453 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2549-2550 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2551-2552 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2553-2554 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2556-2557 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2559-2560 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2561-2564 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2565 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2566 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2570-2571 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2572-2573 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2580-2581 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2372-2373 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. No. 2583-2584 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, in W.P.(C)No.4677/1985, I.A. Nos. 2447-2448 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. Nos. 2585-2586 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. Nos. 2587-2588 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. Nos. 2589-2590 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. Nos. 2591-2592 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. D.No 21225 of 2013 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. D.No 13709 of 2013 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985, I.A. D.No 37447 of 2013 in W.P.(C) No. 4677/1985
Decided On : 30-04-2013

Advocates Appeared:
Mr. M.C. Mehta, In Person (NP), Mr. Ranjit Kumar, Sr. Adv. (A.C.) Mr. Rajiv K Garg, Adv. Mr. Ashish Garg, Adv. Dr. Kailash Chand, Adv. Mr. R.D. Upadhyay, Adv. Mr. Nikhil Jain, Adv. Ms. Liz Mathew, Adv. Mr. D Mahesh Babu, Adv. Mr. Prashant Bhushan, Adv. Mr. Mushtaq Ahmad, Adv. Mr. Avijit Bhattacharjee, Adv. Mr. M.C. Dhingra, Adv. Mrs. Shally Bhasin Maheshwari, Adv. Mr. D.K. Garg, Adv. Mr. Abhishek Garg, adv. Mr. Dhananjay Garg, Adv. Ms. Ritu Puri, Adv. Mr. K.K. Mohan, Adv. Mr. Prakash Kumar Singh, Adv. Mr. Manu Shanker Mishra, Adv. Mr. Anshuman Upadhyay, Adv. Mr. Sanjiv Sen, Adv. Mr. Anirudh Gupta, Adv. Mr. Prashant Kumar, Adv. Mr. Praveen Swarup, Adv. Mr. Rohan Thawani, Adv. Ms. Vandana Sehgal, Adv. Ms. Kriti Singh Gahlout, Adv. Mr. Hardeep Singh Anand, Adv. In person Mr. A. Sharan, Sr. Adv. Mr. Vishnu B. Saharya, Adv. for M/s Saharya & Co., Advs. Mr. D.N. Goburdhan, Adv. Mr. Rakesh K. Khanna, ASG Mr. J.S. Attri, Sr. Adv. Ms. Binu Tamta, Adv. Ms. Seema Rao, Adv. Ms. Kiran Bhardwaj, Adv. Ms. Asha G Nair, Adv. Ms. Gargi Khanna, Adv. Mr. T.A. Khan, Adv. Mr. D.L. Chidanand, Adv. Ms. Priyanka Bharihoke, Adv. Ms. Sushma Suri, Adv. Mr. Harsh Prabhakar, Adv. Mr. S.N. Terdol, Adv. Mr.Sanjiv Sen, Adv. Mr. Ajay Arora, Adv. Mr. Praveen Swarup, Adv. Mr. P Parmeshwaran, Adv. Mr. S.W.A. Qadri, Adv. Ms. Manita Sharma, Adv. Mr. Shadmani Ali, Adv. For Mr. D.S. Mehra, Adv. For Mr. B.Krishna Prasad, Adv. For Mrs. Anil Katiyar, Adv. Ms. Sheil Sethi, Adv. Mr. Arvind Nayar, Adv. Mr. Zeyaul Haque, Adv. Mr. A Venayagam Balan, Adv. Ms. Indu Malhotra, Sr. Adv. Mr. Sidharth Sethi, Adv. Mr. Dheeraj Nair, Adv. Mr. Sunil Fernandes, Adv. Mr. Tarun Johari, Adv. Mr. V.K. Verma, Adv. Mr. Shree Pal Singh, Adv. Intervenor, In Person Ms. Bina Gupta, Adv. Mr. S.K. Bhattacharya, Adv. M/s K.J. John & Co., Advs. Mr. Abhinav Mukerji, Adv. Mr. Pradeep Kumar Bakshi, Adv. Mr. A.S. Bhasme, Adv. Mr. Sandeep Bhalla, Adv. Mr. P.K. Manohar, Adv. Mr. Sanjay jain, Adv. Mr. Naveen R. nath, Adv. Ms. Kamakshi S Mehlwal, Adv. Ms. Prashanthi Prasad, Adv. Mr. S Chandra Shekhar, Adv. Mr. Rao Ranjit, Adv. M/s. Law Associates, Advs. Mr. Ashwani Kumar, Adv. Ms. Sheil Sethi, Adv. Mr. Amitabh Chturvedi, Adv. Mr. Azeem, Adv. Dr. (Mrs.) Vipin Gupta, Adv. Ms. Meenakshi Arora, Adv. Mr. Ramesh N. Keshwani, Adv. M/s S. Narain & Co., Advs. Mr. Shankar Divate, Adv. Mr. Arun K Sinha, Adv. Mr. B.K.SIngh, Adv. Mr. R.M. Sinha, Adv. Mr. Arun K. Sinha, Adv. Mr. L.R. Singh, Adv. Mr. T. Anil Kumar, Adv. Mr. Pravir Kumar Jain, Adv. Mr. R.P. Bhatt, Sr. Adv. Ms.Anita Pandey, Adv. Mr. Vishnu Sharma, Adv. Mr. Subramonium Prasad, Adv. Mr. Chiraranjan Addey, Adv. Mr. Daya Krishan Sharma, Adv. Ms. Chandan Ramamurthi, Adv. Mr. M.A. Chinnasamy, Adv. Mr.S. Muthu Krishnan, Adv. Mr. K.Krishna Kumar, Adv. Ms. Meera Mathur, Adv. Mr. P.S. Narsimha, Sr. Adv. Mr. Ajay Sharma, Adv. Ms. Neelam Sharma, Adv. Ms. Krithika Raghavan, Adv. Mr. Rajeev Sharma, Adv. Ms. Purnima Bhat Kak, Adv. Ms. Abha R Sharma, Adv. Mr. R.P. Singh, Adv. Mr. D.K. Sharma, Adv. Mr. Hardeep Singh Arora, Adv. Mr. N. Ganapathy, Adv. Mr. Abhijit Sen Gupta, Adv. Mrs. Rachana Joshi Issar, Adv. Ms.Ambreen Rasool, Adv. Ms. Nidhi Tewari, Adv. Dr. S.K. Verma, Adv. Mr. Manjit Singh, AAG Mr. Vikas Sharma, Adv. Mr. Tarjit Singh, Adv. Mr. Anil Antil, Adv. for Mr. Kamal Mohan Gupta, Adv. Mr. Shekhar Kumar, Adv. M/s. Mitter & Mitter & Co., Advs. Mr. Arvind Minocha, Adv. Mr. Varinder Kumar Sharma, Adv. Mr. Rakesh Kumar Sharma, Adv. Mrs. Indra Sawhney, Adv. Mr. M.P. Jha, Adv. Mr. Ram Ekbal Roy, Adv. Mr. Harshvardhan Jha, Adv. Mr. Ashok Mathur, Adv. Mr. R.C. Kaushik, Adv. Mr. Prashant Choudhary, Adv. Mr. Gaurav Kejriwal, Adv. Mr. E.C. Agrawala, Adv. Mr. Himanshu Shekhar, Adv. Mr. Arvind Kumar Tewari, Adv. Mr. Sanjeev Anand, Adv. Mr. Senthil Jageeshan, Adv. Mr. Prashant Kumar, Adv. Mr. Shakeel Ahmed Syed, Adv. Mr. Sanjay Parikh, Adv. Ms. Bushra Parveen, Adv. Ms. Mamta Saxena, Adv. Ms. Anitha Shenoy, Adv. Mr. R.N. Karanjawala, Adv. Ms. Ruby Singh Ahuja, Adv. Mr. Raunak Dhillon, Adv. Ms. Neha Gupta, Adv. For M/s. Karanjawala & Co., Advs. Mr. Sanjay R. Hegde, Adv. Mr. S. Nithin, Adv. Mr. Anil Kumar Misra, Adv. Mr. Shibo Shankar Mishra, Adv. Mr. Sunder Khatri, Adv. Shital Khatri, Adv. Mr. Rajesh Goyal, Adv. Mr. Ambhoj Kumar Sinha, Adv. Ms. Kavita Wadia, Adv. Ms. Indra Sawhney, Adv. Ms. Sushil Kumar Jain, Adv. Ms. Rachna Gupta, Adv. Mr. B.K. Pal Adv. Mr. Rajesh Shrivastav, Adv. Mr. Rameshwar Prasad Goyal, Adv. Ms. Madhusmita Bora, Adv. Mr. M.A. Chinnasamy, Adv. Mr. Baldev Atreya, Adv. Mr. R.S.Tomar, Adv. Mr. Sumit Tomar, Adv. Mr. Vikrant Y.S. Narula, Adv. Mr. Deepak Goel, Adv. Mr. Shiv Prakash Pandey, Adv. Mr. S.K. Verma, Adv. Ms. Purnima Bhat Kak, Adv. Ms. Sushmita Lal Das, Adv. Mr. Ashesh Lal, Adv. Mr. Jaideep Gupta, Sr. Adv. Ms. Vibha Datta Makhija, Adv. Mr. Jasbir Singh Malik, Adv. Mr. Varun Punia, Adv. For Mr. S.K. Sabharwal, Adv. Mr. Atul Jha, Adv. Mr. D.K. Sinha, Adv. M/s. Manik Karanjawala, Adv. Mr. Harish Pandey, Adv. Mr. Shekhar Preet Jha, Adv. Mr. Mohit D. Ram, Adv. Mr. S.S. Ray, adv. Ms. Rakhi Ray, Adv. Mr. S. Mukhopadhyay, Sr. Adv. Mr. Bhakti Jardhan Singh, Adv. Mr. Asheesh K Mishra, Adv. Mr. S.P. Jha, Adv. Mr. Ajay Veer Singh Jain, Adv. Mr. R.K. verma, Adv. Mr. U.R. Bokadia, Adv. Mohd. Irshad Hanif, Adv. Mr. R.K. Sanghi, Adv. Mr. Satyendra Kumar, Adv. Mr. Vijay Panjwani, Adv. Ms. Suruchi Aggarwal, Adv. Mr. Ashesh Lal, Adv. Ms. Kirti Sinha, Adv. Ms. Susmita Lal, Adv. Mr. R.M. Sinha, Adv. Mr. Arun K Sinha, Adv. Mr. Rakesh Singh, Adv. Mr. Sumit Sinha, Adv. Mr. Arun K Sinha, Adv. Mr. B.K. singh, Adv. Mr. Rakesh Singh, Adv. Mr. Sumit Sinha, Adv. Mr. Pramod Swarup, Sr. Adv. Ms. Alka, Adv. Mr. Anuvrat Sharma, Adv. Mr. Surya Kant, Adv.

Headnote:
Delhi Laws (Special provisions) Act, 2006 - , National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Act, 2007 - National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Act, 2009 - National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Second Act, 2009 - National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Act, 2011 - National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Second Act, 2011 - Misuse or Non-conforming use of premises – Applicant has mining in the Aravallis, shifting of industrial units both hazardous and noxious from Delhi, closure of industrial establishments working in non-conforming areas, setting up of sewage treatment plants and common effluent treatment plants, change of land users viz., non-conforming users of residential areas, were taken up for consideration and various orders were passed thereon – Held, All these matters (writ petitions and IAs) should be remitted to the Delhi High Court for consideration of the challenge raised to Master Plan and the notifications issued there under accordingly remit all these writ petitions and IA Nos.2069-2069A, 2180 and other connected matters to the Delhi High Court for consideration on their own merits, in accordance with law - The Registry will transmit the entire record along with the papers filed by the Amicus Curiae, for the consideration of the High Court - Parties will have liberty to file additional affidavits, counter affidavits and additional documents, with the leave of the High Court - The High Court is requested to hear these matters at an early date preferably within a period of one year from the date of receipt of the entire record and papers - The High Court may also hear the Monitoring Committee which has been acting under the directions of this Court (and has been filing reports in these matters before this Court - Petitions disposed.

ORDER :

1. These writ petitions were filed before this Court, inter alia, challenging various provisions of the Delhi Laws (Special provisions) Act, 2006. Being temporary Act of Parliament, the provisions were continued from year to year by virtue of the National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws ((Special Provisions) Ordinance, 2007, National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Second Ordinance, 2007, National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Act, 2007, National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Act, 2009, National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Second Act, 2009, National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Act, 2011 and National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Second Act, 2011 valid upto 31.12.2014. Some of the writ petitions also challenged the provisions of the Master Plan for Delhi 2021 as notified on the 7th February, 2007. Some of the Writ Petitions challenged notifications issued by the Delhi Development Authority (hereinafter referred to as `DDA') notifying certain streets for mixed use and/or commercial use, which were issued in the year 2006.

2. In the matter initiated by M.C. Mehta, various facets of mining in the Aravallis, shifting of industrial units both hazardous and noxious from Delhi, closure of industrial establishments working in non-conforming areas, setting up of sewage treatment plants and common effluent treatment plants, change of land users viz., non-conforming users of residential areas, were taken up for consideration by this Court and various orders were passed thereon. This Court had passed the following order on 30.9.2002 :

"Reply be filed with regard to commercial use of premises in residential areas within 4 weeks. Response to the same be filed within 4 weeks thereafter. List after 8 weeks.

In its earlier order dated 19.8.2003, this Court had observed :

"In these matters various issues are involved, such as shifting of industries from non-conforming areas, setting up of CETP in the industrial areas, the change of land use, validity of proposal to regularise the nonconforming use, applicability of building bye-laws to the areas falling within Lal Dora and the impact of the guidelines issued by the Central Government on the Master Plan under preparation."

The judgment with regard to the shifting of industries from residential/ nonconforming areas was rendered on 7.5.2004 and is reported as "M.C. Mehta v. Union of India, (2004) 6 SCC 588".

3. The judgment in regard to the misuse/non-conforming use of residential premises, and power to seal premises, arising in IA No.22, as also, several appeals filed by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (hereinafter referred to as `MCD') which arose out of a Full Bench of the Delhi High Court were decided by a judgment dated 16.2.2006 and is reported as, "M.C. Mehta v. Union of India, (2006) 3 SCC 399". It was, inter alia, held that the MCD had power to seal the premises for non-conforming user in terms of Section 345 A of the MCD Act, and various directions were issued.

4. These cases relate to the matter of non-conforming user of premises, and the orders passed thereon, after the judgment of 16.2.2006, under the special provisions made by the Parliament qua Delhi, the various provisions of the Master Plan which according to some of the petitioners were flawed because of the non-availability of the physical and social infrastructure. This Court had appointed a Monitoring Committee vide an order dated 24.3.2006. The same is being extracted below :

"In order to over-see the implementation of the law, namely sealing of offending premises in terms of the letter and spirit of this Court's directions, it is necessary to appoint a monitoring committee instead of leaving any discretion with the officers of the MCD. Accordingly, we appoint a Monitoring Committee comprising of Mr. K.J. Rao, Former Adviser to Election Commissioner, Mr. Bhure Lal, Chariman, EPCA and

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2013 Supreme(SC) 1398

Cases Referred (2)